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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Food and Wine Books in Review

3.BRASSICAS (Ten Speed Press, 2014; distr. By Random House, 167 pages, ISBN 978-1-60774-571-6, $23US hard covers) is by Laura B. Russell, food writer and recipe developer in Portland OR. She's also written The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. There is even some logrolling from Andrew Weil and Deborah Madison. This current book is devoted to cooking the world's healthiest veggies: kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, and leafy such as collards, mustard greens, rabe, arugula, bok choy and Napa cabbage – about 22 in all. There's a short section on why brassicas are good for you, special diets and some tables, and a bibliography. She has 80 recipes that call for roasting or sauteing, pickling, wilting and the like. All preps are useful for retaining the nutritional elements that the brassica is good for: vitamins, minerals, fibres, phytochemicals, and more. They tend to be anti- many things, such as anti-inflammatories, anti-oxidants, anti-carcinogenics. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.Audience and level of use: brassica lovers, those looking to improve their diet.Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: roasted kale chips; leek and broccoli soup; roasted cabbage wedges with vinaigrette; boke bowl cauliflower and Brussels sprouts salad; mizuna salad with cumin-roasted cauliflower; Moroccan turnip and chick pea braise.The downside to this book: I would have liked more recipes, say, at least 100.The upside to this book: there are alternatives given for gluten-free, soy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets.Quality/Price Rating: 89.

4.MY PARIS KITCHEN (Ten Speed Press, 2014; distr. Random House, 346 pages, ISBN 978-1-60774-267-8, $35US hard covers) is by chef-author David Lebovitz. He spent 13 years at Chez Panisse, but then left the restaurant business to write books, moving to Paris in 2004. His blog davidlebovitz.com is very popular; he has written several dessert cookbooks plus a memoir. Here he combines the memoir aspect with 100 classic French dishes, giving us his own take on the preps, concentrating mainly on how the Parisian eat today. Log rolling includes Ottolenghi and Ruhlman, as well as Dorie Greenspan and Suzanne Goin. It is arranged by course, apps to desserts, with the largest section on the latter. He concludes with his pantry. Along the way he digresses and talks about Paris matters. It is a good read in its diversity, but he's best when writing about the food markets. Preparations have their ingredients listed mainly in avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents. At the end, there is a sources list, principally American.Audience and level of use: armchair travellers, French food lovers.Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: onion soup; cassoulet; coq au vin; crème brulee; cheesecake; pistou; polenta with braised greens; quiche with ham and pear and blue cheese; kirsch babas; braised guinea hens.The downside to this book: there are more desserts than I expected, especially since he has written so many sweets books.The upside to this book: it is eclectic.Quality/Price Rating: 90.

5.THE SOUTHERN BITE COOKBOOK (Nelson Books, 2014, 252 pages, ISBN 978-1-4016-0543-8, $24.99 US soft covers) is by Stacey Little, creator of southernbite.com blog (since 2008), which gets over a quarter million page hits a month. It is a mix of some 150 recipes, from his own family through four generations, and his reader contributions. The preps involve easy-to-make plates using spring and summer foods, some gluten-free options, and things to make with your kids. It's all arranged by occasion, beginning with party bite foods, followed by weeknights and then weekends. There are sides, potluck, holiday, and heirloom foods, as well as desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.Audience and level of use: lovers of southern US food, families.Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: chicken bacon ranch mac and cheese; hummingbird sheet cake; brunswick stew; blueberry salad with balsamic; green bean casserole; cornbread salad; cheese grits; cheesy corn and rice casserole.The downside to this book: makes it seem too easy.The upside to this book: good notes on using leftoversQuality/Price Rating: 86.

6.DINNER ON THE GROUNDS; southern suppers and soirees (Gibbs Smith, 2014, 208 pages, ISBN 978-1-4236-3628-1, $35 US hard covers) is by James T. Farmer III, a designer with a flair for writing lifestyle books (plants, porch living, party drinks, decorations, etc.). He currently contributes to Southern Living magazine. Here he promotes the southern lifestyle, more uptempo than the preceding southern cuisine book (no. 5 above). Traditions and heirlooms are stressed in these dinners and soirees in the open; the art of Southern entertaining is that each event is grandly presented with style and confidence rooted in hospitality. The collection of menus focus on 10 themes: family reunion, dinner in the garden, summer picnic, barn dinner in the mountains, dinner on the dock, birthday dinner, fireside dinner, opening night dinner, rehearsal dinner, and wedding reception. There's large type and leading, and upfront and close pictures of plated dishes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. There is a resources section and a substitutions list.Audience and level of use: those who entertainSome interesting or unusual recipes/facts: from the fireside dinner, oven-poached salmon, roasted okra, roasted squash, skillet toast, sweet potato wedges, honey-lemon olive oil cake, amaretto peach bake.The downside to this book: it helps to have "the grounds", sorely lacking in Canada except in mid-summer.The upside to this book: good advice for entertaining.Quality/Price Rating: 87.

7.PALEO ITALIAN SLOW COOKING (Cider Mill Press, 2014; distr. Simon & Schuster, 271 pages, ISBN 978-1-60433-464-7, $18.95 US soft covers) is by Dominique DeVito, with Breea Johnson RD. DeVito writes cookbooks and own a winery near Ghent, New York. The emphasis is on meats, fish, and seafood, with particular fruits and veggies plus nuts, seeds and oils. She's got material on slow cookers (and how to convert from conventional cooking), the paleo diet and Italian food. The first thing is to get rid of pasta and other grains, which will be hard to do with Italian food. But it has to happen. Also gone are crackers, chips, breads, sugar, candy, cookies, many oils, peanut butter, beans, most dairy. Then she has a list of what to have on hand in the "new" Italian pantry. All courses are covered (antipasti, minestre, secondi, contorni, dolci), but of course there is no "primi" since that would be pasta. Minestre or soup is in that position in the menu. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents.Audience and level of use: slow cooker owners; Italian food lovers; paleo dieters.Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: chicken scottiglia; beef and sausage ragu; duck novarese; shellfish stew; stuffed peppers; lamb stew with prosciutto and bell peppers; asparagus with pancetta.The downside to this book: not sure who the authors are – there is no bio material within or on the book. So I searched Amazon.The upside to this book: there is a handy list of paleo-friendly foods on pages 268 – 269. Many of them fall into the Italian category.Quality/Price Rating: 86.

8.THE PALEO FOODIE COOKBOOK (Page Street, 2014, 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-62414-048-8, $28 US hard covers) is by Arsy Vartanian, who has also written an paleo slow cooker cookbook. It comes with a huge number of paleo log rollers, but I guess they tend to support each other. She's back with Amy Kubal, RD, her co-author on The Paleo Slow Cooker. Here are 120 preps for gluten-free and grain-free meals. There's a rundown on the paleo lifestyle followed by recipes divided by course, with chapters on snacks, seasonal soups and stews, sides, and sauces. There's large print, good clean white spaces, an engaging photo for most dishes, and a thorough index. I enjoyed the pan-fried halibut with avocado salsa, but I substituted haddock. Worked just as well. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mostly avoirdupois and some metric measurements, but there is no overall table of equivalents.Audience and level of use: paleo food lovers.Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: salmon ceviche; bacon-wrapped dates; roasted bone marrow (cut lengthwise); Thai coconut curried mussels (a personal fave); persian green bean stew; lemongrass and cashew beef; slow cooker lamb vindaloo; braised goat shoulder.The downside to this book: nothing really, except too many log rollers.The upside to this book: slow cooker recipes can be used, and converted back and forth. Pages also lie relatively flat.Quality/Price Rating: 88.